The Most Affordable U.S. Cities to Visit

With summer winding down and Labor Day just ahead, many families are seizing the opportunity for one last getaway before the new school year begins. While June through August still mark the peak U.S. travel season, late-summer trips are increasingly popular as travelers seek smaller crowds, cooler weather, and better prices. In 2025, lower travel costs are making quick, affordable vacations more attainable for many American households.

After several years of steep price increases, the cost of travel is finally starting to even out. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average domestic airfare is down 3.5% year-over-year, and overall passenger volumes have plateaued. TSA checkpoint data for June and July 2025 shows little change compared to the same period in 2024, following two consecutive years of strong growth. Still, interest in travel remains relatively high. A recent Bank of America survey found that more than 70% of Americans planned a summer vacation this year, with most favoring domestic destinations.

To help travelers get the most for their money, Dunhill Travel Deals—a leading source for travel deal discovery—looked at what it actually costs to take a four-day trip for a family of four in cities across the country. The analysis covered four key expenses—airfare, lodging, meals, and rental cars—and ranked destinations based on overall affordability. The findings aim to support families looking to maximize their travel budgets while also uncovering some surprisingly affordable spots they might not have considered.

Key Takeaways

• Late summer is a great time to travel. With prices stabilizing and crowds thinning out, August and early September offer families a smart window for affordable getaways before the school year begins.
• Airfare is getting cheaper—but meals aren’t. Flights are down more than 11% from pre-pandemic levels, making air travel more budget-friendly. But restaurant prices have climbed more than 31% since 2020, continuing to put pressure on dining budgets.
• The Midwest and South offer the best value. Cities like Toledo, OH, Peoria, IL, Jacksonville, FL, and El Paso, TX combine lower travel costs with family-friendly attractions, walkable downtowns, and fewer crowds.
• Big cities come with big price tags. Destinations like New York, San Francisco, and Boston cost families nearly $6,000 for a four-night stay. Honolulu is the most expensive overall, topping $7,000.
• Hidden gems can lead to real savings. Families willing to look beyond the typical tourist spots may find surprisingly affordable cities that still offer memorable experiences—without the high price tag.

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How Fast Are Travel Costs Rising in 2025?

While restaurant prices remain high, other travel expenses have come down significantly

While overall travel costs have steadied in 2025, the biggest pain point remains restaurant prices, which have climbed 31.4% since January 2020. That’s nearly triple what prices would have risen under the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% inflation per year, or about 11.3% total over the same time span.

Fortunately, other travel costs are telling a different story. Airfare has dropped significantly—down 11.1% compared to pre-pandemic levels—as airlines scale back flights in response to softer summer demand. Hotel prices are also up more modestly, rising just 9.7% since 2020. That’s slightly below the 2% annual inflation target and a marked shift from the sharp increases seen in 2022 and 2023.

Car rentals, which were among the most inflated travel costs during the pandemic recovery, are still 22.1% higher than they were five years ago. But even that represents a major improvement from their peak in 2021, when prices were up nearly 60% due to supply shortages and high demand.

Altogether, the numbers suggest a mixed picture. While eating out is still putting pressure on travel budgets, falling airfare and steadier hotel prices are giving families more room to plan affordable getaways—especially if they’re open to exploring less obvious destinations. 

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The Most (and Least) Affordable Cities for a Family Vacation

The most affordable cities for families to visit are concentrated in the Midwest and South

Overall, some of the best values can be found in the Midwest and South, where travel costs tend to be lower across the board and cities offer a family-friendly mix of activities and attractions. In the Midwest, cities like Toledo, OH ($2,987), Peoria, IL ($3,727), Akron, OH ($3,978), and Fort Wayne, IN ($4,053) offer affordable getaways with access to museums, local parks, and Great Lakes shorelines—all at a fraction of what a trip to a major coastal city might cost. These destinations often come with smaller crowds and less traffic, making them especially appealing for families with young kids.

The South also offers excellent value, with cities that combine affordability, warm weather, walkable downtowns, and regional culture. Jacksonville, FL, El Paso, TX, Raleigh, NC, and Norfolk, VA each come in under $4,300 for a four-night stay and offer a mix of beaches, historic sites, food scenes, and family-oriented attractions. While they might not get as much attention as more high-profile Southern cities like New Orleans or Charleston, they still deliver a worthwhile experience at a much lower price point.

Outside of the Midwest and South, Wilmington, DE ($3,133) and Allentown, PA ($3,611) also stand out as highly affordable options. Both are located within about an hour’s drive of Philadelphia, giving families access to a major metro area without the higher lodging and dining costs that often come with staying in the city itself. But these cities are also worth a visit in their own right, and can be appealing for a short family trip.

By contrast, many of the most expensive places to visit are large coastal cities where high demand drives up the cost of lodging and flights, in particular. New York City ($5,983), San Francisco ($5,920), and Boston ($5,818) each push the total cost of a four-night family trip close to $6,000. However, Honolulu, HI ranks as the most expensive destination overall, with a typical family spending about $7,353—driven by long-haul airfare, above-average hotel prices, and expensive meals.

Below is a breakdown of the average family travel costs for a four-night stay across 100 select U.S. cities, including totals for flights, lodging, meals, and rental cars. For more information, see the methodology section.

Full Results: Cheapest U.S. Cities to Visit

Methodology

The data used in this study is from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ 2025 Domestic Airline Consumer Airfare Report, the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) 2025 Per Diem Rates, Business Travel News’ 2025 Corporate Travel Index Calculator, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ 2023 Regional Price Parities by Metro Area. To calculate the total cost of a four-night stay for a family of four, researchers at Dunhill Travel Deals calculated the total cost of four average-priced round-trip flights, two average-priced hotel rooms for four nights, three average-priced meals per day for four people, and the cost of the average-priced rental car for four days.

Round-trip airfare for each location was calculated by doubling the average aggregated, one-way, domestic trip data for directionless city pairs pertaining to that location. Airfares for each city pair include segments for both nonstop and connecting itineraries, and in order to include airports that are nearby to the travel destination, the average airfare was calculated using the average airfare for all airports serving that market. Some markets are primarily served by small or regional airports with limited commercial flight options, which can result in lower average airfares. Average hotel room costs were calculated using the GSA per diem rates, which are formulated to best represent mid-range hotels in each market. Similarly, average meal costs were calculated from the GSA per diem rates to represent the total cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidentals (tips). Rental car costs were calculated by averaging the daily rental rates (including taxes) across full-size, intermediate, and compact vehicle classes.

The researchers also calculated the total cost of a four-night stay for an individual, the round-trip flight cost per person, the four-night lodging cost per room, the four-day meal cost per person, the four-day rental car cost per car, and the cost of other services compared to average (helpful for approximating entertainment and recreation affordability). For relevance, only a select 100 cities with complete data across all metrics were used in the analysis.

Author: Kristi Williams